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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. tear — from crying
  3. club — for dancing
  4. tear — to rip
  5. bark — to shout
  6. spell — a short time
  7. spell — magic
  8. tear — from crying
  9. fine — high quality
  10. current — electric
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. scale — in music
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. club — for golf
  15. spell — letters
  16. club — a group
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. current — of water
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. content — the amount
  21. fine — all right
  22. scale — size or range
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. current — happening now

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com